Silenced Majority Portal

Paris Political

antiSarko poster & Sego his opponent who lost

Yes I'm experiencing reverse culture shock. The posters encapsulate the French election, in which Segalene Royal, the Socialist candidate, was too weak to offset the advance of the globalisationist/reformer in the Bush tradition Sarkozy. Le Pen the fascist brought up the rear. At Le Sorbonne, I noticed that there are still Socialist Youth, though it seemed kind of an elite school. Isn't it usually students who champion the rights of those not so privileged, who are too busy working?

A bartender told me "Bush..Sarkozy..they are the same" and then did kind of a universal "up-the-ass" gesture. I was also told that French people are very worried with the introduction of Diebold voting machines. "You know what happened in the United States!"

I didn't see many Americans in the first place. The dollar is too weak so thankfully we booked hotel/air and paid in dollars, then lived on street food, especially Moroccan (which is certainly nothing to complain about!), rode the subways and took videos and photos.

Slugbug

I posted this at Docudharma website when I got home (writing on 10/6)

French People Are Terrified of Diebold Machines (+)
by: Slugbug
Sat Oct 06, 2007 at 16:15:49 PDT
I was just in Paris and talked to quite a few bartenders and so forth. Suffice to say the American dollar is barely worth the paper it's printed on, so we may have spent most of our time in the more dodgy areas of town.
That said, I believe we interviewed quite a cross-section, in our pidgeonish Franglais. I was repeatedly told variants of the following:

1. Bush and Sarko (Sarkozy) are the same. (usually followed by an obscene gesture)

2. Sarko won because a weak candidate ran against him. (followed by a warning not to do the same in US)

3. Diebold voting machines are stealthily and gradually being installed in France. (followed usually by the comment, "We don't want to happen in France what happened in US" = stolen election(s).

4. Unions are getting weaker and demonstrations and strikes are ignored in US and France and anywhere else they're tried, because of globalization.

There were Chinese products everywhere, and a few suspected sweatshops, lots of immigrants "sans papiers" (& a demonstration planned to try to get preschool services for their children). Alot of things seemed familiar (though we are still having "reverse culture shock" upon returning to America).

We were staying in the area of Paris that was formerly known for incidents such as the "storming of the Bastille," which was inspiring, but I have no doubt that something of the like needs to be done periodically, whenever the rich get too uppity.

Paris: Dead Rock Stars

What else do we have here? Le Pompidou Centre is always a cool place, as it was put up in a neighborhood where people congregate and where there was a huge market and also a cemetery, long since replaced by a huge mall and underground train station. It's a bit off the tourist path and after school, groups of Goths and Tektonik dancers congregate in their little separate scenes.

People still associate Seattle with Cobain, Hendrix and WTO riots and Morrison's grave is now guarded by police, after having been trashed.

Slugbug

From Le Pompidou

Writing from Paris - we probably haven't bombed Iran or I think I would have heard.

Art professor investigating tainted organic foods treated as a terrorist

Professor Steve Kurtz, who was examining foods marked organic for  Monsanto Roundup, a chemical used on crops that is known to increase the risk of cancer, has been charged with mail fraud. The whole story surrounding the incident with Professor Kurtz is unusual.  He was treated as a bio-terrorist when emergency responders, whom he called after his wife died suddenly, noticed his bio laboratory equipment in his home. They also observed "terrorist Arabic writing," which turned out to be an invitation to an art show. He was forced to leave his home for days, and wasn't allowed to return until the laboratory equipment was cleared by Homeland Security.  At the same time, he was dealing with the death of his wife. Read about it at the link above to learn more.. Below, watch the film trailer for Strange Culture, a movie made about his unusual story.

O'Reilly eats in Harlem: no one saying "M-Fer, I want more ice tea"

Summary Media Matters: Discussing his recent dinner with Rev. Al Sharpton at the Harlem restaurant Sylvia's, Bill O'Reilly reported that he "couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship." O'Reilly added: "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.' "

The video below from youtube below doesn't have the money quote (click on the link above at Media Matters for that one), but it's good anyway.

This is What Democracy Looks Like

100,000 Strong - Monks protest military junta in Myanmar

Song dedicated to monk protest

UAW worker strike, biggest in 30 years

Tap 3x With Your Loafer If You Want Me

more from the Minneapolis airport bathroom stall: (hat tip to Rossian in Australia)
Tap three times, or click once, rather - to hear the music

Toilet trollin' Senator Craig
Standing so tall outside my bathroom stall at the airport
Through the crack I see you peeking
I know what you’re really seeking
You tap a code from the next door commode
Playin' footsie
It’s Lusty Larry!

Tap three times with your loafer if you want me
Mmmm. Twice on the tank - if the answer is no
Tidy bowl man!
(Tap Tap Tap) Means you’ll meet me in the stall-way
Twice on the tank means you just gotta go

Being busted inside a john
It’s not a thing that a right-wing Republican should do
All your talk of family values
Flushed away in scandalous loo news
And all your denials are stinking like piles of political poo
(What a wide stance)

Tap three times with your loafer if you want me
Twice on the tank - if the answer is no. No?
Dirty Larry!
(Tap Tap Tap) He's unbuckling his beltway
White and far right means you’re from Idaho

Crapitol Hill is buzzin'
About Larry’s lavatorial lovin'
It seems so wrong wanting sex in a john
(Hey, rent a motel)

Tap three times with your loafer if you want me
Twice on the tank - if the answer is no
(Tap Tap Tap) Means you'll meet me in the stall-way
You’re in the tank, better say adios
(graphic from whodat.com)

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Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Blackwater & Military Contractors But Were Afraid to Ask

(A longer version of this article, with more references, appears at Democracy Cell Project blog

Blackwater has been in the news once again, this time because of questionable circumstances in an event which resulted in death and wounding of civilians. In more recent news, they are also suspected of arms smuggling. Now it seems that, despite controversy and investigation by the US Senate and the Iraqi government, they will continue to operate, with the excuse being given that otherwise there would be a "security vacuum." So with the broken and stretched US military and the flailing Iraqi military/police, security is still poor. It looks like the "hired guns" will stay.

I first heard of Blackwater, like many people, when four of their members were ambushed in Fallujah and their corpses were dragged through the streets, then hung from a bridge over the Euphrates. I had also heard about Dyncorp, alleged to have been involved in rapes in Kosovo with no legal way to prosecute them, and that they were from Texas with conservative government ties. Prior to that, I had known about "mercenaries" or "soldiers of fortune" and generally thought of them as macho rightwing adventures with a thirst for blood.

I solicited questions from friends via email, and we came up with some basics. The links we collected are at the bottom of the thread.

Who are Blackwater?
They are the world's most powerful mercenary firm, and growing fast. They are a private army, a private military company, called "mercenaries" by some. They are paid for with tax dollars. On their website,their Vision is: To support security, peace, freedom, and democracy everywhere.

Who founded Blackwater?
Blackwater was founded by an extreme right-wing fundamentalist megamillionaire ex-Navy SEAL named Erik Prince. He is hereditarily wealthy and his family bankrolls right-wing causes. They are based in the wilderness of North Carolina, named Blackwater because of the region they are based in.

What are they and other private military contractors supposed to do?
Their ostensible duty is to protect the top US officials. They are also capable of carrying out regime change anywhere in the world. They supply bodyguards for public officials (US and foreign), build detention camps (such as Guantanamo), pilot armed reconnaissance planes to destroy coca in Columbia, operate intelligence/communication at US Northern Commands in CO, and coordinate response for attack on the US.

Where are their operations?
Certainly Iraq, Afghanistan and a number of other foreign nations, and also inside the United States, as after Hurricane Katrina and in the mountains of Colorado. Blackwater has over 1000 employees just in Iraq, with a fleet of helicopters around the country.

What are their corporate structures like?
They are a for-profit business. Private military companies make over $100 million per year. The Center for Public Integrity reported that since 1994, the Defense Department entered into 3,601 contracts worth $300 billion with 12 U.S. based PMCs. The number of private security companies has proliferated to where some operate from laptops in small offices and hire as they acquire contracts, trying to compete with the larger companies.

Who are private military contractors licensed by?
The US State Department. As such, they also contract with foreign governments. They might train soldiers, reorganize militaries (as in Nigeria, Bulgaria, Taiwan, Equatorial Guinea). They are not supposed to engage in offense operations, merely defensive, but it's a huge gray area given the chaos that exists in military zones.

Has the number of private military contractors increased under our current President?
Yes, substantially. There are approximately 120,000 "private security contractors" are in Iraq, 48,000 of them working as combat soldiers. Their deaths are not included in the official casualty counts. Center for American Progress estimates The total number of private contractors in Iraq is estimated between 126,000 and 180,000, which includes 20,000 to 50,000 private security guards.

How are they recruited?
Entry level positions with the various companies can pay up to US$100,000 a year in some instances, or as high as US$1000 a day (most are deployed for a year and a half), which is 2-3 times more than what an average special forces soldier is paid.

Are private military contractors the same as defense contractors?
Not necessarily, but the 1949 Third Geneva Convention did not differentiate, but called them "supply contractors." Under a 1977 addition, if they engage in combat, they can be classified as mercenaries. If they are therefore unlawful combatants, they lose right to POW status. The US did not agree to this condition.

What are some of the things military contractors have done that have been controversial (other than increasing the number of Americans in military areas and muddying the waters as far as who is doing what)?
In 2003, employees of a private military company CACI were involved in the Iraq Abu Ghraib prison scandal.
In 2004, four American private contractors belonging to the company Blackwater USA were ambushed and killed by guerillas as they drove through Fallujah.
In 2005, 16 American contractors and three Iraqi aides were detained following two incidents in which they allegedly fired upon U.S. Marine checkpoint.
In 2005, a "trophy" video, complete with post-production Elvis music, appearing to show private military contractors in Baghdad shooting Iraqi civilians.
On September 17, 2007, the Iraqi government annouced it was revoking the license of the American security firm Blackwater USA. As of 9/1, they were going back to work as usual, though there is an investigation pending.

Can Blackwater be legally prosecuted?
No one seems to know, as they don't seem to be under anyone's jurisdiction. Even the State Department admits this. From Center for American Progress:"Visible, aggressive" private contractors have "angered many Iraqis, who consider them a mercenary force that runs roughshod over people in their own country." At Abu Ghraib, "the U.S. Army found that contractors were involved in 36 percent of proven abuse incidents," but "not a single private contractor named in the Army's investigation report has been charged, prosecuted or punished."

The founder and chairman of Blackwater USA, the private security contractor, has been told to appear next month before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In a letter to Blackwater chairman Erik Prince, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said the hearing would concentrate on "the mission and performance of Blackwater USA and its affiliated companies in Iraq and Afghanistan."

References for the Q/A above:
Congress Wants Testimony From Blackwater Boss
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092107N.shtml

Maliki Blasts Blackwater Firm
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092007A.shtml

Iraq Government Bans Blackwater
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091707A.shtml

Feds Target Blackwater in Weapons Probe
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092207Z.shtml

Blackwater: Above the Law
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004241.php

Iraqis Put the Heat on Blackwater
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004229.php

Who Watches US Security Firms in Iraq?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070919/ap_on_go_ot/us_iraq_contractors

Feds Probing Iraq Arms Smuggling By Blackwater Guards
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070921/us-blackwater-probe/

In The (Black)water
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060605/scahill

Petition to pressure Condi Rice on this: http://act.truemajorityaction.org/o/2/t/21/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=21

From the petition from True Majority
This is still America. We can't hire mercenaries to fire on civilians with no accountability.
Tell Sec. Rice to put an end to it, and follow the Iraqi government's demand that Blackwater leave the country. This has to stop.

Slugbug

September 11th Changed Everything for a small boy in the Philippines

Master Andrada was only 7 years old when the terrorist attack on the twin towers occurred but it has deeply affected his life. Master Andrada wasn’t in NY city at the time of the attack. In fact, he’s never been to the United States. This boy was born and has lived his entire life halfway around the world in the Philippines.

Master Andrada has become obsessed with the topic of the Twin Towers attack. At first he began to draw pictures of it.

Then he started to recreate the New York City skyline. His current small scale model has removable twin towers.

His story was featured on the evening news the other night on ABSCBN in the Philippines. He appeared with his mother, who told us that he has been diagnosed with autism.

Although he is in somewhat handicapped by his condition, his IQ is reportedly 133. He has hopes of coming to the US someday to study architecture.

Master Andrada has a lot in common with the George W Bush, the president of the US. George Bush admits that 9-11 changed everything for him as well. George W. Bush also has shown the same obsessive behavior, but instead of making constructive models of NY City, the president focuses destructive energy on Iraq, a nation that had nothing to do with the attack on NY City. I wish that the US devoted more of its money to special education for persons who are afflicted with problems and for others so they can recognize a problem when they see one. The goal is to have persons with propblems receive professional guidance to help them to channel their energy in productive ways.

Pink & Her Father: Iraq/Vietnam